VISTA: Variety of restaurants on menu at Taste of Vista event

Tastebuds will be tantalized by hometown food, including some
with international flair, at Vista's third annual downtown food
fair on Wednesday.

More than 25 city restaurants ---- with fare ranging from
Japanese to Mexican to Italian to organic ---- will participate in
this year's Taste of Vista.

The celebration of local eateries will be held from 4 to 8 p.m.
on Main Street from North Indiana Avenue to Michigan Avenue.

Tickets cost $20 in advance or $25 at the gate and allow
visitors to sample fare from all participating restaurants, such as
John's Neighborhood Bar & Grill, the Yellow Deli and
Hennessey's ---- just to name a few.

Ron Briseno, executive director of the Vista Entertainment
Center and a Vista Village Business Association board member, said
the event gives eateries a chance to advertise at a limited
cost.

Each restaurant provides the food they want guests to sample and
the staff to prepare it and hand it out.

Ticket-holders get a chance to try food from restaurants they
haven't yet visited.

"A lot of us become creatures of habit," he said. "If you're
just used to going in the same direction, you miss out on a lot of
great options Vista has to offer."

Briseno said the Vista Entertainment Center ---- best known for
its bowling alley and arcade ---- has even gotten off-site catering
jobs after Taste of Vista visitors sampled their food. He said the
business plans to offer caprese salad on a stick and Greek salad on
a stick on Wednesday.

The event is put on by the Vista Chamber of Commerce, the Vista
Village Business Association and the City of Vista.

Rachel Beld, an economic development specialist with the city,
said the goal is to bring people downtown and encourage residents
to spend their dining dollars in Vista.

"It's an opportunity for people to expand their horizons with
regard to the restaurants they frequent," she said.

About 500 people attended the event last year, up from about 300
attendees in 2009.

Tickets are available at the Vista Village Business Association,
150 E. Broadway Street, or the Vista Chamber of Commerce, 201
Washington St.

Tickets are also available through the nonprofits Operation
Hope, a winter shelter for the homeless at 123 W. Orange St.; and
the Vista Historical Society, 2317 Old Foothill Road.

Beld said those organizations will get to keep a portion of any
tickets they sell.